Method of treating fabrics.



H. L. QUICK. METHOD OF TREATING memos.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.'I.191-1. TL 9 1 1L V0 Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

l i w l u METHOD OF TREATING FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1015.

Application filed January 7, 1914:. Serial No. 810,757.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD L. QUICK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, cityof New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Method of Treatin Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for treating fabrics.

My invention is especially advantageous in the processes of mercerizing, stripping or boiling oil. bleaching, dyeing, finishing, weighing silks, and treating woolen goods. It is, in fact, advantageous wherever a large quantity of fabric is to be treated at a time by the action of a liquor; especially where several'successive treatments are required; and wherever the action of the liquor must be substantially uniform upon all parts of the fabric.

The objects of my invention are, to save time and expense and to produce uniform results.

Heretofore. it has been customary in treating fabrics,'especially in dyeing, bleaching and similar processes, to mount a large roll of fabric upon the beam of a jigger, reel the fabric upon another beam, passing the fabric through a suitable liquor; and to jig the fabric back and forth by winding it from one beam upon the other, all the time passing the fabric through the liquor. Each step in the process required that the whole piece of fabric (generally about 5,000 yards) be jigged back and forth from one beam to the other. was necessary to subject. the fabric to liquorsof two or more different colors it was necessary to jig the fabric through each liquor several times; and very often it was necessary to jig it through water to wash it, between the different dyeing operations. Each time the fabric is jigged from one beam to another considerable time, labor and power are required. For a 5,000 yard piece the average time consumed in jigging from one beam to another was about 25 minutes; and each step in the process required one or more such operations. Furthermore, it was necessary to remove the fabric from the jig and to dry it upon a separate machine. ln addition to the time and labor required for these several opera- If, for instance in dyeing, it-

.ranged inside the casing.

tions the fabric was subjected to more or less stress which was unequal. Furthermore, different portions of the whole piece were sometimes unequally affected by the liquor.

The object of my invention is to avoid many, if not all, of these objections.

y employing my present invention it is possible to treat the fabric successively with different liquors withoutnecessarily handling the fabric between treatments.

The b sides in taking a quantity of fabric and rolling it upon itself to form an even roll, in revolving the roll and in supplying the treating liquor to the interior of the roll so that centrifugal force will operate to force the liquor evenly through all parts of the fabric rapidly.

In the drawings forming plication, Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine for carrying out my improved method, Fig. 2 is a cross section thereof, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and showing the cover down or closed, and, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the roller and associated parts.

I have shown a very simple and convenient arrangement for carrying out my method. This consists of a casing 1 for inclosing the roll. of fabric to prevent the part of this ap scattering and loss of liquor; and it comprises a stationary casing 1 mounted upon suitable standards 2, 3; and of a cover f hinged at 5. Outside the casing there is a shaft 6 having fast and loose pulleys 7, 8, to which power may be applied by means of a belt 9. operated from any suitable source. This shaft is adjustable, lengthwise, in its bearings 10 by means of a screw 11 operated by the wheel 12. Fixed to the shaft there is a friction disk 13 which is arranged to act upon a corresponding cone 1% to revolve the shaft 15. The shaft 15 projects through the standard 3 and on one end it is provided with a chuck 16, arranged inside the casing. In the standard 2 there is journaled a bearing block 17 which carries a sleeve 18. alining with the shaft 15; and on one end. thereof is a chuck 19, also ar- The journal block 17 is adjustable in the journal 20 by means of a screw 21 operated by the wheel 22. With this arrangement the chuck member 19'rnay be adjusted toward and from road principle of my invention rethe chuck member 16 to adapt the device for shells of different lengths.

- The shell shown herein consists of a tubular member 23 having a bore 24, closed at one end 25 and open at the opposite end 26. One end of the shell has a trunnion 27 for entry opposite end has a trunnion 28 for entry into the chuck member 19. The latter trunnion has a bore 29 for a purpose which will comb structure, I have shown the wall as provided with regularly spaced openings 30 of uniform area, separated by the walls 31. These openings extend from the bore 24 to the exterior of the shell.

In order to insure the passage of the liquor evenly through all parts of the roll of fabric and to prevent it, for any reason, from passing out of the roll in a direction endwise thereof, I have provided suitable ric roll. I have shown two such flanges 32 directed at right angles to the shell. These are carried upon hubs 33 which are adjustable along the shell and are adapted to be secured thereto,. in different positions, by the set'screws 34. These hubs, 33, extend over portions of the shell so that when moved inwardly from their extreme outer positions, as shown iii-Fig. 3, they will effec tively close some of the openings 30. That is, they close the openings not lying within the escape of the any: particular roll of fabric which is of less length than the maximum for which the machine is designed.

- The flanges 32 are so made as to prevent liquor between the ends of the roll and he flanges, and to thus insure the passage thereof laterally through the roll. For this purpose the flanges are provided with concentric corrugations 35.

The machine herein shown and described is not claimed herein as it forms the subject of an-application filedby me on the 30th day of July, 1914, which application is seriallynumbered 854026.

To prepare the fabric for treatment it' is first wound tightly and evenly upon the shell 23. This may be done in the machine herein shown or it may be done upon any machine adapted to the purpose. In order to obtain proper results the fabricshould be wound upon the shell in smooth, even layers. It should also be wound tightly; and, in some processes, such as mercerizing, the fabric should be wound under considerable tension. It may be here stated that one important advantage of my method as applied to mercerizing is, that the fabric may be wound under an even tension and, therefore, all parts of the fabric may be subjected to treatment while under equal stress or tension. When the fabric has been properly into the chuck member 16; and the appear. Throughout the greater portion ofits length the shell is perforate or of honeyend flanges for closing the ends of the fab-- wound upon the shell the hubs (and their 'flanges) are moved along the shell to bring wound in'a separate machine the shell and fabric must be placed in position.

v This may be done by placing the trunnion 27 into the chuck 16; and by bringing the trunnion 28 into line with the chuck 19. The hand wheel 22 is then operated to move the journal 17, sleeve 18 and chuck 19 until the latter engages the trunnion 28. A pipe 36 having one end 37 closed and having ports 38 arranged therealong, is inserted through the sleeve 18 and trunnion 28 until it extends the full length of the fabric roll. This pipe need not revolve but may be stationarily held in a standard 39. The pipe 36 is connected with the source of supply of treating liquor, such for instance, as a tank 40 arranged above the receptacle.

The parts having been arranged as above set forth, the belt 9 is shipped to the fast pulley 8 to start the operation of the shaft 6. The hand wheel 12 is now operated to shift the shaft 6 and bring the friction drive disk 13 into contact with the cone 14. l/Vhen this has been done the shell 23 and its roll of fabric will be revolved. These should be revolved very rapidly, say at the rate of several hundred revolutions a minute. The cover 4 having been lowered, the treating liquor is allowed to flow through the pipe 36. It will discharge through the ports 38 of the pipe 36, and will pass through the apertures of the shell 23, entering the roll of fabric at the interior thereof. The centrifugal force caused by the rapid revolution of the roll will cause the liquor to pass through the fabric anddischarge into the casing 1. The liquor will run to the bottom of the casing and it may be drawn off through the pipe 41 and raised, as by a pump, to the tank 40, to be used over again. The centrifugal action will cause the liquor to very rapidly pass through all portions of the fabric roll; and, if the fabric has been evenly wound, the liquor will act more uniformly thereon than in any method of treatmentknown to me. If a dyeing liquor is admitted through the pipe 36 it will be forced through all portions of the fabric and will evenly dye it. If two or more liquors are required to produce the desired colorv they are each, in their turn, fed through the pipe 36, so that they affect the fabric in the desired manner.

In the process of mercerizing, a caustic soda solution is fed through the pipe 36 and is driven, by the centrifugal action, through the fabric. The latter, if wound under proper tension, will be mercerized by lit) ana ee tn.

the action. llf, as is the case in many of the methods herein enumerated, it is necessary to wash the fabric between the separate treatments, this may be done without removing it from the machine. All that is required is to supply water through the pipe 36 when it will be forced through the fabric by the centrifugal action, the same as with the liquors. If, for any reason, the liquor should tend to pass out of the ends of the fabric roll it will enter the concentric grooves of the corrugated faces of the flanges and it will form a seal to the oncoming liquid. In this manner-the liquor is compelledto pass laterally through the roll of fabric.

The wall of the shell should be rather thick, as shown, in order that the apertures 30 will be of sufficient length to produce the desired result. If these apertures are long they retain sufiicient of the liquor at all times to supply it to the fabric as fast as it is forced therethrough. Were these apertures insufficient there would be times when portions of the inner wall of the fabric roll would be temporarily without liquor and this would tend to make the process more or less irregular. These apertures not only tend to hold the necessary liquor always in readiness to feed into the fabric but their.

defining walls prevent the liquor from splashing freely around in the shell.

. By employing the method herein described it is possible to treat the fabric evenly and with the least injurious effect upon it. lit is also possible to carry out the treatment in a much shorter time than heretofore, because the centrifugal action forces the liquor more rapidly through all parts of I the roll to force the the fabric than where the latter is simply pgged through a bath.

Having described my invention, what I I claim 1s:

the liquor therethrough by centrifugal force.

2. The method of treating fabrics, which consists in winding a quantity of fabric upon itself in layers under tension, to form a tight roll, in introducing a treating liquor to the interior of the roll and in revolving liquor therethrough by centrifugal force.

3. The method of dyeing fabrics, which consists in winding a quantity of fabric evenly in layers upon itself to form a roll, in introducing a dyeing liquor to the interior of the roll and in revolving the roll to force the liquor therethrough by centrifugal force.

4. The method of treating fabrics, which consists in winding a quantity of fabric in layers upon a perforate shell and upon itself to form a roll, in introducing a liquor to the interior of the shell, and in revolving the shell and roll to force the liquor through the fabric by centrifugal force.

Signed at the city of New York, and State of New York, this 24th December, 1913.

county day of HOWARD L. QUICK. 

